HSE plans phase 2 of safety campaign
The HSE is planning to launch phase two of its “Make the promise, come home safe” campaign in the summer.
It follows the HSE claim that the hard-hitting campaign is its most successful in a debate, with record number of farmers – more than 6,000 in six weeks – having responded to it.
The initiative, aimed at cutting deaths on British farms, sees farmers sent packs asking them to make a promise to come home safe – plus a “promise knot” as a visual reminder of this pledge.
Among its backers, as well as many farmers, are the main farming unions and rural charities.
This campaign is of massive importance to the farming industry,” says NFU vice-president Paul Temple. “These accidents destroy lives, whole families and often farm businesses. Any death is a death too many, yet all too frequently someone dies in a farm accident.”
incolnshire farmer and contractor David Eames says: “Coming from a family of farmers, I know all too well the accidents that can happen when handling machinery and equipment. I believe this campaign serves as a great reminder that all farmers, young and old alike, should be more vigilant and take extra care to avoid mistakes on farms.”
Agriculture remains one of Britain’s most dangerous industries, with 39 workers dying in 2007/08.
Too many people are dying in needless accidents on British farms,” says a spokesperson for the HSE. “Parents. Grandparents. Children. In the last ten years, 455 people went out in the morning and never came home.”The campaign, which highlights the key causes of work-related death in a new booklet hasn’t met universal approval. Some have claimed it is patronising and dismissed it as “nonsense” and “nannying”.To obtain a copy of the HSE booklet “How lives are lost on British Farms”, call 0800 141 2805.